Card
Animate Dead
Mana cost {1}{B}
Enchant creature card in a graveyard When this Aura enters, if it's on the battlefield, it loses "enchant creature card in a graveyard" and gains "enchant creature put onto the battlefield with this Aura." Return enchanted creature card to the battlefield under your control and attach this Aura to it. When this Aura leaves the battlefield, that creature's controller sacrifices it. Enchanted creature gets -1/-0.
Part of 86 known combos, 4 of them two-card. 5 official rulings.
- Commander
- Legal
- Printing
- Uncommon · LEA · #92
- Cheapest printing
- €6.12
- EDHREC salt
- 0.55
- Color identity
- Black
- Keywords
- Enchant
Bracket
- B1 Exhibition — Not in the same deck as its two-card combo partners: Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward, Worldgorger Dragon, Leonin Relic-Warder, Kederekt Leviathan
- B2 Core — Not in the same deck as its two-card combo partners: Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward, Worldgorger Dragon, Leonin Relic-Warder, Kederekt Leviathan
- B3 Upgraded — Not in the same deck as its early two-card combo partners: Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward, Worldgorger Dragon, Kederekt Leviathan
- B4 Optimized — allowed: No restriction beyond the banned list
- B5 cEDH — allowed: No restriction beyond the banned list
Why
- Two-card combo with Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward, Worldgorger Dragon, Leonin Relic-Warder, Kederekt Leviathan (early with Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward, Worldgorger Dragon, Kederekt Leviathan)
How Lotus Vault estimates a bracket
Bracket: Lotus Vault analysis, with Commander Spellbook flags
Combos
86 known combos, 4 of them two-card.
- Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward + Animate Dead
Produces: Infinite blinking, Infinite creature tokens, Infinite death triggers
View on Commander Spellbook - Worldgorger Dragon + Animate Dead
Produces: Infinite death triggers, Infinite blinking of permanents, Infinite colored mana
View on Commander Spellbook - Leonin Relic-Warder + Animate Dead
Produces: Infinite death triggers, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB
View on Commander Spellbook
Combos: Commander Spellbook
Rulings
- 2016-06-08 · Wizards of the Coast
If the creature put onto the battlefield has protection from black—or if the creature can't legally be enchanted by Animate Dead for another reason—Animate Dead won't be able to attach to it. It will be put into the graveyard as a state-based action, causing its delayed triggered ability to trigger. When the trigger resolves, if the creature's still on the battlefield, its controller will sacrifice it. - 2016-06-08 · Wizards of the Coast
Animate Dead is an Aura, albeit with an unusual enchant ability. You target a creature card in a graveyard when you cast it. It enters the battlefield attached to that card. Then it returns that card to the battlefield, and attaches itself to the card again (since the card is a new object on the battlefield). Animate Dead itself never moves into a graveyard during this process. - 2016-06-08 · Wizards of the Coast
If Animate Dead isn't on the battlefield as its triggered ability resolves, none of its effects happen. The creature card won't be returned to the battlefield. - 2016-06-08 · Wizards of the Coast
Once the creature is returned to the battlefield, Animate Dead can't be attached to anything other than it (unless Animate Dead somehow manages to put a different creature onto the battlefield). Attempting to move Animate Dead to another creature won't work. - 2016-06-08 · Wizards of the Coast
Abilities such as shroud and protection function only on the battlefield unless otherwise specified. A creature card with shroud may be targeted by Animate Dead, and Animate Dead will become attached to the creature that enters the battlefield.
Rulings: Scryfall · Wizards of the Coast